Gas meter stuck

Dinks786

I’ve got considerable credit with bulb energy and tried to retrieve it, they say the gas reading hasn’t moved since last reading in Aug 2021 so won’t return it, problem is I didn’t realise gas meter was stuck and as I have a smart meter so of course thought everything was accurate. Obvs this is terrible timing, I don’t know 
1. who’s responsibility is this?
2. Surely the system is flawed if for months a smart meter is providing the same reading? I have never been informed and have always provided a physical reading when asked
3. how on earth am I going to get any of the credit off them?
4. How are my new usage calculations going to be made now under the new tariffs?

very worried and not sure what to do,
any advice gratefully received,
Debra 

Astria

A common problem with smart meters is that they can stop communicating. Have you checked the actual reading? You may have to push a button or 2. They are probably expecting you to be in debt.

Chrysalis

You can make a reasonable argument this isnt your fault which I think limits you ro 12 months liability.

What to do now, get the proper reading to them as soon as possible, dont make it even worse by waiting until the October increase.

I dont know if you need to press buttons, I know on my gas when I looked, I pressed the button once and it showed a message saying owned by octopus so wasnt enough to see reading, but my electric smart meter shows the reading like my old dumb meter did all the time.  Hopefully someone here can help on what specific buttons you need to press, ring them up asking how as well.

[Deleted User]

If you can, put a photo of your gas meter on here.  Then we might be able to tell you how to see the reading on its screen.

Meter not transmitting - happens a lot.  Meter getting broken by a power surge - happens to electric meters but not gas ones.  Gas meter just not bothering to record what's going through it - very unusual.

Also note - if you've used gas since Aug 2021 then this "considerable credit" that you claim is there might not be as considerable as you think.  They can still charge you for what you've used.

MWT

You can usually get the gas meter reading from the in-home display (IHD) as well. it is usually under 'meter information'.

Also a big difference between the meter being 'stuck' and sending the same reading each time vs not sending a reading at all...

Should be clear which is happening if you can read the meter and compare to the reading they have as your last reading...

Should also be very clear on your bills that they have not been charging you anything for gas over the last 12 months, so when this is fixed, that large credit is going to go down a lot, or even get completely used up with something left to pay...

Going to have to get the gas problem resolved before you know if there is actually a credit to reclaim or not...

Dinks786

[Deleted User] said:

If you can, put a photo of your gas meter on here.  Then we might be able to tell you how to see the reading on its screen.

Meter not transmitting - happens a lot.  Meter getting broken by a power surge - happens to electric meters but not gas ones.  Gas meter just not bothering to record what's going through it - very unusual.

Also note - if you've used gas since Aug 2021 then this "considerable credit" that you claim is there might not be as considerable as you think.  They can still charge you for what you've used.

Yes it’s becoming clear that “considerable credit” is due to the meter reading being “stuck”, this is the physical reading and now I can see from my account it’s been that for months, I didn’t look at the account because I’ve assumed it was all correct because of having the smart meter, it seems very wrong that a supplier wouldn’t contact you if the gas was the same month after month. I don’t understand how they can know what I’ve used if it’s been on that figure for months. My DD going down coincided with my daughter moving out so I put it down to that. I really want to understand my rights before I speak to them tomorrow, thanks for your input.

[Deleted User]

Dinks786 said:

Yes it’s becoming clear that “considerable credit” is due to the meter reading being “stuck”, this is the physical reading and now I can see from my account it’s been that for months, I didn’t look at the account because I’ve assumed it was all correct because of having the smart meter, it seems very wrong that a supplier wouldn’t contact you if the gas was the same month after month. I don’t understand how they can know what I’ve used if it’s been on that figure for months. My DD going down coincided with my daughter moving out so I put it down to that. I really want to understand my rights before I speak to them tomorrow, thanks for your input.

They can use an estimated curve through the year based on weather, type of house, data from previous suppliers, readings from before the meter stopped counting....

Mobtr

What is the reading on your bill, is it the same as what’s in your meter or lower? 

Dinks786

There are no readings in the electronic bills from Bulb, they simply say “we’ve used your readings from the smart meter”, it’s only now going into the account on line that I can see the gas reading hasn’t moved for months, I have just assumed all was correct due to being on a smart meter, clearly I should have submitted more physical readings but in my defence I always did so when asked and haven’t been emailed to do that over the last year 

[Deleted User]

Dinks786 said:

There are no readings in the electronic bills from Bulb, they simply say “we’ve used your readings from the smart meter”, it’s only now going into the account on line that I can see the gas reading hasn’t moved for months, I have just assumed all was correct due to being on a smart meter, clearly I should have submitted more physical readings but in my defence I always did so when asked and haven’t been emailed to do that over the last year 

I don't think you've done much wrong here - even if they had emailed you would have given them the number they already had.  The only thing you might have noticed is that the reading hadn't moved.

They really should have noticed, but that doesn't stop them being able to charge you for an estimate of the gas you have used - you obviously can't get the whole year for free.  Probably means they can only go back 12 months though, although I'm no expert in back-billing.

Ally_E.

OP says their daughter moved out during this time. This could have a hug impact on actual gas use. How would a supplier accurately estimate usage when circumstance change like this? OP shouldn't be overcharged just because the data that is available is from precious years when more people lived in the property and used more hot water and possibly had the heating on higher.